What Have You Overcome in Your Life?
Big_Stacks
"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
Hey Ya'll,
Some of the stuff I said in that "Favorite Frozen Foods" thread got me to thinking. Damn, I've come a long way from the way I used to live. More generally, let's speak about overcoming lean times, psychological barriers, etc. I guess I'll start off.
Back in the early-mid 70's, our family was just getting started. Times were lean since dad had a low rank in the military then, hadn't quite made the come-up, and mom was stayin' home with me and my older brother. I was living in a trailer park in Aberdeen, Maryland, wearing cut-buddy sneakers. I went back to Aberdeen in summer 2003, with my folks and wifey, and was shocked how nowhere it was. It shows that with love and childhood innocence, you don't realize how fucked up your environment was. Over the years, pops got rank, mom started working, moved to Laurel, MD (fuckin' Roach Motel and rat-filled apartment complex that was later condemned by the Health Department as "Unfit for Human Habitation"; thanks Uncle Sam!!!), then Silver Spring, MD (nice military townhouses), living in better and better places. The last two stops were Greensboro, NC (where I found out I was a niggga), and then Fayetteville, NC. In Fayette-nam, we moved into our own house in 1981, and times were better.
Something that I overcame was insecurity. I was "weird" and beyond my years intellectually as a child. Because of that, I didn't fit in socially, and had a hard time with my peers. They made me feel less of myself, picked on me, and I had to kick nuff ass as a kid. I was very shy and wouldn't talk to the girlies that I liked. It took years to finally accept myself as I am (damn near 'til adulthood). Where all of this totally changed around. I became self-confident, assertive, and got my game tight with the cuties.
Sorry about the length of this, folks. I am thankful that I have indeed come a long way.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Some of the stuff I said in that "Favorite Frozen Foods" thread got me to thinking. Damn, I've come a long way from the way I used to live. More generally, let's speak about overcoming lean times, psychological barriers, etc. I guess I'll start off.
Back in the early-mid 70's, our family was just getting started. Times were lean since dad had a low rank in the military then, hadn't quite made the come-up, and mom was stayin' home with me and my older brother. I was living in a trailer park in Aberdeen, Maryland, wearing cut-buddy sneakers. I went back to Aberdeen in summer 2003, with my folks and wifey, and was shocked how nowhere it was. It shows that with love and childhood innocence, you don't realize how fucked up your environment was. Over the years, pops got rank, mom started working, moved to Laurel, MD (fuckin' Roach Motel and rat-filled apartment complex that was later condemned by the Health Department as "Unfit for Human Habitation"; thanks Uncle Sam!!!), then Silver Spring, MD (nice military townhouses), living in better and better places. The last two stops were Greensboro, NC (where I found out I was a niggga), and then Fayetteville, NC. In Fayette-nam, we moved into our own house in 1981, and times were better.
Something that I overcame was insecurity. I was "weird" and beyond my years intellectually as a child. Because of that, I didn't fit in socially, and had a hard time with my peers. They made me feel less of myself, picked on me, and I had to kick nuff ass as a kid. I was very shy and wouldn't talk to the girlies that I liked. It took years to finally accept myself as I am (damn near 'til adulthood). Where all of this totally changed around. I became self-confident, assertive, and got my game tight with the cuties.
Sorry about the length of this, folks. I am thankful that I have indeed come a long way.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Comments
ya'll dont know my struggle
Cocaine, heroin, the death of my mother by homocide (drug related)[/b], homelessness, street drama. These are the big things worth mentioning.
That's great man. You have quite a story to tell, bro!!! Sorry to hear about your moms!!!! Street drama, that's another thread, but I was just trippin' on how lean our beginnings were. Fam made some moves, and I never really thought about it like that until tonight.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
A bulleted list, cause I doubt folls could handle the whole weight.
Then I turned 18.
(I found it's pretty easy if you get the big stuff out of the way first.)
Damn, Man!!!! You're inspirational, for real!!!! That's a lot of weight to carry, but you overcame and that is great!!!!
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Glad you all are here with us.
Couple family secrets I'd rather not share, but on the whole, I've had a pretty comfortbale life. A friend of mine recently overcame cancer, and I've lived my entire life with Neurofibromatosis, but I've never been without food and I've always had a roof over my head. My sister, on the other hand, went through some shit!!! Now she's a multi millionaire...but she's still not entirely happy. Maybe giving me more money for records would make her happy?
Reynaldo, is your mom happy?
jokes and jokes and jokes and jokes...
As for me:
-Born premature
-Welfare child
-Evictions
-Handicapped parents (not to mention we were cut off from their families)
-Forced to be a caretaker for my parents early on
-Forced to be a parental figure for my little brother early on.
All these events & actions have made me stronger, and continue to do so daily. I used to hate having to serve as a interpreter for my parents and all thier deaf freinds, it was no fun going to banks and fingerspelling out words talking about loans at 7, but you know it set me up to deal with the world in a way that I appreciate far more now that I'm in my 20's
i didn't have it as bad/significant as u guys, but racism throughout my life really phucked with my head. and i just got over it in elementary school when i got a crazy dose of it again in highschool, and just wished i was over with,had no one to relate to and just buried that stuff inside me, killed my esteem on all fronts(lol i can even relate to that thread about people of color acting nerdy as to not draw attention to themselves), though music kept me through. numbed myself for a few years, and now its time to do something constructive. trying to absorb as much as i can in this life and be productive with what i have, and always be a student. i haven't overcome, but i'd like to think i'm overcoming,
peace and keep on keeping on.
2 different girls
by the time I was 22
but I'm all about my kids. I'm probably in the 98% percentile of dads who spend time with their kids. I'm straight up Mr. Mom every single day... volunteer at the school, change diapers, make the macaroni and cheese, do the ABCs, 123s, addition, reading, all that.
I'm the stereotype breaker!
My biggest regret that I have to overcome:
I came up in public schools in SC. I came out of high school borderline illiterate*. Luckily, USC took almost any SC state resident who applied. I had never written a paper or read a book. I got a 1.7 GPA my first two semesters and changed my major three times. My roommate taught me how to write and suggested I read ???Invisible Man.??? That chnaged me.
My low GPA from this time has made it next to impossible for me to enter the highly competitive academic world.
Rejection is one thing???
*still am
Respect to y'all for possessing the strength to overcome or make peace with.
Peace. Lp.
its funny how you think your life is one thing, but you need to recognize there is always someone worse off...major props to all the hommies who are overcoming the past and doing big things in the future.
I graduated HS with a 1.4 ... batch!
:P
Congrats on movin on up. I've done the same. My GPA just isn't that good.